Former DCF IT Employee Indicted for Leaking Confidential Case Information in Exchange for Bribes

Prosecutors say the former state employee accepted payments in exchange for access to sensitive case information that New Jersey law keeps confidential to protect children.

A former New Jersey Department of Children and Families employee has been indicted on allegations that she accepted bribes in exchange for disclosing confidential information from a child welfare case file, according to Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and the state Office of Public Integrity and Accountability.

A state grand jury charged Susaida Nazario, 44, of Trenton, with four criminal counts after investigators alleged she used her position in the Department of Children and Families’ Information Technology Division to obtain and share information from a confidential case file with someone who was not legally entitled to it.

Prosecutors say the alleged conduct took place between January 2021 and August 2021, while Nazario was working as a technical assistant for the DCF IT Division in Trenton.

According to the indictment, Nazario allegedly misrepresented herself as a DCF caseworker to a person involved in a matter being handled by the Division of Child Protection & Permanency, the arm of DCF responsible for child abuse and neglect investigations and related child welfare matters. Authorities say she then sought and received money from that person in exchange for help with the case, including by offering to disclose confidential case information.

The case centers on one of the more sensitive areas of state government. Records held by DCF and DCPP are generally kept confidential under New Jersey law because they can contain highly personal and potentially dangerous information about children and families. That confidentiality is intended to protect the safety, welfare and privacy of minors involved in the child welfare system.

“Protecting children is one of my top priorities, and it is essential that those entrusted with protecting our children uphold the trust we place in them,” Davenport said in a statement. “DCF records are kept confidential by law to protect the life, safety, and welfare of children. Illegally disclosing that information, and putting vulnerable children at risk for personal gain, is unconscionable.”

Eric L. Gibson, executive director of the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, said the case involved an alleged misuse of access to sensitive government information.

“The public rightfully expects that State employees with access to sensitive information about children will follow the law, perform their jobs with integrity, and act responsibly,” Gibson said in a statement. “Instead, in this case, the defendant allegedly misused her access for her own benefit.”

Nazario is charged with bribery in official and political matters, acceptance or receipt of unlawful benefit by a public servant for official behavior, official misconduct, and theft by deception. The first three counts are second-degree charges. Theft by deception is a third-degree charge.

Under New Jersey law, second-degree charges carry a possible sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000. Third-degree charges carry a possible sentence of three to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Attorneys General Robert J. Serrano and Randolph Mershon for OPIA under the supervision of Deputy Corruption Bureau Chief Laura Croce, Bureau Director Jeffrey J. Manis, and Gibson.

As with all criminal cases, the charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.